Chapter 77

After parting ways with Elke, I headed to the hotel where Akito was staying. We had promised to grab dinner together tonight.

“So, Miss Elke asked you to investigate the Saint with her?”

“Yeah.”

“But you’re not feeling it because it feels like you’re cheating?”

“Exactly.”

It wasn’t that I intended to do anything scandalous. Acting with Elke was purely to scout the Saint’s movements, and the only reason I wanted to know those movements was to confirm if she was a murderer.

But still, what would Lady Clara think if she found out? I’d be sneakily investigating another woman and spending the whole night with another girl.

“Gosh, why don’t you just come clean and tell Lady Clara everything?”

I’d considered that, but the truth was, I didn’t even understand my own feelings toward the Saint. I couldn’t figure out why she was on my mind so much. Whenever I thought about Juliana, I felt this tightening in my chest. Wasn’t that a betrayal of Lady Clara?

“So, what’s the plan?”

“…I’ve made up my mind to investigate the Saint. I have a hunch she can use Charm magic. In fact, I hope that’s the case. Otherwise, I’m just a terrible cheater, and I feel like my heart is going to be torn in two.”

That was the first thing I wanted to verify during the investigation.

“…Honesty, Senpai, you don’t even need to investigate. That’s probably just a fact.”

“You think so?”

“I mean, how much time have you actually spent with the Saint? People say time doesn’t matter when falling in love, but there’s a limit, right?”

Come to think of it, I’d only met Juliana twice. Was it possible that because of Charm, I wasn’t able to think straight?

The first time we met, she hadn’t occupied my thoughts that much. If anything, Akito was the one making a fuss, calling her someone he wanted to root for. But then, like a liver blow, the interest started to throb and spread. By the second time our eyes met, I felt like I’d gone completely off the rails.

“Maybe she was just your type to begin with, and you didn’t realize it? Your intuition picked up on it instantly. Add a little Charm on top of that, and it’s no wonder you’re obsessed.”

Intuition is the grasp or recognition of an object before it’s even put into words… huh. It certainly wasn’t an exaggeration to say she was a peerless beauty, the kind that could topple a kingdom.

“But I didn’t think I was that much of a sucker for a pretty face.”

“Coming from the guy who fell for Lady Clara, that’s not very convincing.”

“…I have no defense.”

Well, Lady Clara is a stunning beauty, and so is the Saint, but…

“So, it might not just be looks. Maybe your intuition is seeing into the Saint’s inner self, Senpai.”

Her inner self, huh? Maybe she really was a pure and kind girl, just like she looked. There was a chance she committed those murders due to some unavoidable circumstances.

“Perhaps she was just at the scene and isn’t the culprit. Or even if she is, she might be suffering under the weight of her sins.”

“That’s one possibility. The other is that she’s actually a hedonistic serial killer and a total pervert.”

“Hey! You just said my intuition judged Juliana as my ‘type.’ If that’s true, you’re basically saying my type is a hedonistic, murdering pervert!”

What a jerk. My ‘strike zone’ was the noble Lady Clara.

“Who knows? No one truly understands themselves perfectly. Besides, there’s always the chance that the person you happen to fall for just happens to be a thrill-killing maniac.”

I mean, I guess, but still…

“Anyway, if we’re going to investigate, let’s buy some gear back in Japan. Tomorrow is the day we get sent back.”

“Yeah.”

I didn’t say it to Akito, but my intuition was whispering to me. The culprit is Juliana.

By the time I finished dinner with Akito and left the restaurant, it was already 9:00 PM. Thanks to the wine, my feet felt light. I was drunk enough that I had to focus on every step just to walk in a straight line.

I enjoy the taste of alcohol, but I must lack the enzymes to break it down properly.

A single drink and I’m under.

“Senpai, be careful on your way hoooome.”

“Yeah. I’m counting on you for the land business. Goo’night.”

Both of us were slurring our words quite a bit.

I had been walking down the main street toward the city gate, but somewhere along the line, I must have taken a wrong turn. I was now in a completely unfamiliar place.

Where on earth was I?

I hate how often this happens when I’m drunk.

I was lost, but I figured if I just aimed for the city wall, I’d manage somehow. The ninety-meter-high wall was clearly visible even through the gaps between the buildings.

Dresden’s city walls have ninety large and small gates in addition to the four main gates at the cardinal directions. Not all of them are open, but if I just walked along the wall, I was bound to end up somewhere.

Standing in a deserted area, looking up at the massive wall, I let out a breath that reeked of booze. The walking had only made the alcohol hit harder.

I suppose I’ll just walk along the base until I hit a gate…

……

…………

Like I have the patience for that!

I’ll just climb the damn thing.

Yeah, I’ll climb it!

I’m a climber, aren’t I?!

Thinking back on it later, it was incredibly stupid, but at that moment, I was dead serious. If I’d been in my right mind, I would’ve known that going through the South Gate was far easier and the route was clear, but drunks have a knack for coming up with the most idiotic ideas.

I channeled mana into my limbs and activated “Gecko Hand.”

“A wall like this is nothing! In Japanese terms, it’s ‘breakfast before.’ In English terms, it’s a ‘piece of cake’!”

I started my triumphant ascent while shouting nonsense, but it wasn’t long before regret began to set in.

Today was February 13th.

It was the dead of winter. The wind whipping up the wall was freezing, and my intoxication was rapidly fading. By the time I was slightly past the halfway point, I was already over it.

But it felt wrong to turn back now. What a mess.

Karina draped a fur coat over Juliana’s shoulders as she prepared to go out. It was a piece made of pure white Fairy Rabbit fur that had been bought for her a few days ago.

It was light and very warm. Juliana liked it, and she thought it suited her well. Though, it would probably look good on Karina, too.

Come to think of it, Juliana once overheard her older brother talking with his friends about how high-class courtesans wear nothing but fur over their bare skin. Since she would likely never have the chance to see the real thing, she wondered if she should have Karina try it. Lara would probably enjoy that. Or perhaps she should make Lara do it instead.

“Lady Juliana, the carriage is ready.”

She moved quietly through the mansion so as not to wake her mother. Juliana absolutely loved this thrilling sensation. Of course, even if she were caught, her mother would forgive anything if she asked with all her heart. But it was likely that sense of immorality; there was a special kind of fun in doing things in secret that one was not supposed to do.

Thinking back, Juliana had grown up knowing nothing of freedom until her fifteenth birthday. Until then, she had needed permission from her father or mother for every little thing. Yes—until that moment she awakened to magic.

Juliana loved walking on moonlit nights. The dark town illuminated by the cold moon looked mystical to her, and she felt as if a world she didn’t know was hidden within the shadows here and there. Furthermore, the moon shining in the heavens made her feel as if it were liberating her from the yoke of this earth.

That was why she occasionally climbed the city walls like this. The top of the wall was the closest place to the moon in Dresden.

“Please let us through tonight as well.”

The guards protecting the stairs to the city wall saw them through graciously. From atop the wall, one could see for miles. Unlike the inside of the city wall where many lights were visible, the outside was almost pitch black. Beyond the houses lay fields, and beyond those, forests reflected a white glow under the moonlight.

Juliana began her usual game. She climbed onto the stone at the very edge of the wall, standing on the brink, and looked down.

The first time she had done this, she felt a slight ecstasy along with the terror. She had tried the same thing several times since then, but she could no longer achieve that initial pleasure. However, that restless, tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach still came. She wondered if she would be able to taste that sensation today as well.

She ordered Lara and the others, whose faces were pale with worry, not to move, and she climbed onto the stone. Everyone always tried to stop even a trivial game like this. To Juliana, making such a fuss over something so small was ridiculous. It was just a minor game, a little simulation of ruin.

Standing in a position where her big toes were slightly hanging over the edge, she looked straight ahead. She didn’t look down yet. Then, she looked down all at once.

“……”

The tingling in her stomach vanished, replaced by sheer shock. Today, the door to ruin was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a soldier was stuck to the side of the wall.